Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion
Top Ten Findings
Religious Practice and Family Stability
February 2009
1. Couples who are more religious tend to exhibit greater marital commitment than couples who are less religious. Among a cohort of 172 newlywed couples, those who reported being more religious (measured by church attendance, importance of religious beliefs in day-to-day life, seeking spiritual comfort during difficulties, and generally being a religious person) tended to report higher levels of commitment to their spouses than peers who reported being less religious.
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2. On average, there is less likelihood of domestic violence among couples who attend church regularly than among those who do not, especially among couples whose partners have similar religious beliefs and practices. Compared with individuals who attended religious services only once a year or less, those who attended church regularly (at least once a week) were less likely to commit an act of violence against their partners. Regular attendance at religious services reduced the odds of perpetrating domestic violence by half for women and for men.
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3. Husbands and wives who participate in religious holiday rituals tend to report higher levels of marital satisfaction than peers who do not. Marital satisfaction was related to religious holiday rituals. Husbands' marital satisfaction was associated with the meaning of the religious rituals and wives' marital satisfaction was associated with the practice of those rituals.
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4. On average, couples who attend church regularly are less likely to engage in extramarital affairs than those who do not attend regularly. Married individuals who attended religious services often were less likely to be unfaithful to their spouses than peers who attended less frequently.
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5. Communities with higher concentrations of various religious denominations tend to have a lower incidence of divorce. Controlling for other selected factors associated with the likelihood of divorce, counties with higher concentrations of a number of religous groups had a lower incidence of divorce.
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6. Adolescents who consider religion to be important in their lives tend to have better quality relations with their fathers. Adolescents who perceived religion was important to them tended to indicate better quality relationships with their fathers than peers who perceived religion to be less important.
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7. Mothers who place a high importance on religion in their lives tend to have higher-quality relationships with their children than do mothers with lower levels of religiosity. According to mothers' reports, regardless of the frequency of their church attendance, those who considered religion to be very important in their lives tended to report a higher quality of relationship with their children than those who did not consider religion to be important.
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8. Fathers who exhibit higher levels of religiosity tend to be more involved with their children and have higher quality relationships with their families than do fathers with lower levels of religiosity. A greater degree of religiousness among fathers was associated with better relationships with their children, greater expectations for positive relationships in the future, investment of thought and effort into their relationships with their children, greater sense of obligation to stay in regular contact with their children, and greater likelihood of providing emotional support and unpaid assistance to their children and grandchildren. Fathers’ religiousness was measured on six dimensions, including the importance of faith, guidance provided by faith, religious attendance, religious identity, denominational affiliation, and belief in the importance of religion for their children.
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9. On average, adolescents who attend religious services more often and consider religion to be more important in their lives are less likely than less religious peers to cohabit rather than marry. Both the importance of religion and the participation in religion by the young people themselves were associated with lower rates of cohabitation. This is especially true for young women. Females who attend religious services several times a week have a cohabitation rate only 14% as large as those who never attend.
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10. Couples who pray together during times of conflict tend to experience a decrease in feelings of negativity and hostility and an increased sense of responsibility to reconcile. Spouses who prayed had decreased negativity, contempt, hostility, and emotional reactivity toward their partner during conflict.
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Resources
Events:Religious Practice and Civic Life: What the Research Says October 4, 2007 |